Both Jon Netts and Heidi Shipley will run for Shipley’s City Council seat

Shipley had planned not to run again but changed her mind.

Both Jon Netts and Heidi Shipley will run for Shipley’s City Council seat in the upcoming election.

Shipley, who represents District 2, had earlier announced that she would not run for re-election. Netts, the city’s former mayor who was supportive of her when she first ran, announced that he was planning to run for her seat.

But then Shipley changed her mind after supporters contacted her and asked her to reconsider. Netts had already decided he wanted to run, and decided he’d do it anyway, even with Shipley as an opponent.

Shipley went to the city offices to file her paperwork, thinking Netts wouldn’t run against her once he realized she was running. But Netts was there, she said, and decided not to drop out.

Shipley said she didn’t mind. “He was nice to even ask me,” she said.

She said she felt like she still has issues to work on — like getting lights installed on Lakeview Boulevard and ensuring City Manager Jim Landon retires when he’s said he would, in 2019.

“I’m still afraid he’s going to say he’s staying,” she said.

Netts has been attending City Council meetings and occasionally offering input during public comment periods, and he serves on the board of the Florida Inland Navigation District, or FIND.

“I think I bring a unique perspective in that I’ve served in local government, and I’ve served in a regional capacity,” he said, mentioning his service with FIND, Regional Community Initiatives and the Regional Planning Council.